Public Statements

Congressman Steven Palazzo on President Obama's State of the Union Address

Statement

Congressman Steven Palazzo, (R-MS), released the following statement regarding President Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night:

"Tonight, as some in South Mississippi pick up the pieces from Sunday's devastating storms, and some celebrate Mardi Gras, the president will once again give his annual State of the Union address. The American people have heard four previous addresses touching on a wide range of issues- from energy independence to economic growth and stability, job creation to debt reduction. Yet, here we are, at the beginning of the president's second term, our debt at more than $16 trillion and growing by the minute, unemployment at 7.9 percent, and a trend of negative economic growth. The president is once again late in delivering a budget, and the Senate has not passed a budget in four years.

"Congress began 2013 with a fiscal cliff "deal" that provided no solutions. At that time, the president's only plan was to raise taxes. We now face another looming deadline: the devastating across-the-board cuts that threaten everything from domestic spending and entitlement programs to national security programs that have already seen drastic cuts. On the eve of the last State of the Union address, I joined with my House Armed Services Committee colleagues to propose a solution that would replace the mandatory defense cuts for one year. Since then, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has twice passed bills that would replace these cuts for the first year. Yet we've seen no action from the president, and none from the Democrats in the Senate.

"I think the American people deserve to have the question answered: "Mr. President, what is your plan?" Many have said that tonight was his opportunity to share that plan. Yet all the president continues to say is more of the same: raise more taxes. Mr. President, higher taxes are not the answer.

"I believe tomorrow, and the coming days, hold greater opportunities for the president to actually lead on issues he's only talked about over the last four years. To get serious about passing and balancing a budget and reducing our debts and our deficits. To embrace an all-of-the-above energy policy, and to protect our national security interests at a time when the world only continues to become more dangerous.

"These are the things we have worked to accomplish in the House, these are the things we will continue to work toward to solve the very real problems our country faces. I would welcome the president as a partner in this effort."